London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

A woman suffered serious burns and two others were injured when a pavement exploded under their feet in a freak accident in a London street.

One of the women, aged 55, suffered 20 per cent burns in the blast in Edgware Road and was said to have suffered “life-changing” injuries. The two other women were also burned in the blast. All three were taken to hospital.

It happened at 5.45pm yesterday on the corner of Edgware Road and Burwood Place, sparking panic as pedestrians ran for cover amid fears a bomb had exploded.

Later it was reported that the explosion may have been caused by an electrical fault among cables running under the pavement.

One pedestrian who witnessed the drama told how she narrowly avoided the blast. Ourania Jones, 21, a university student, said: “A woman was walking down the road when a piece of pavement blew up from underneath her. There was a big explosion.

“The woman was walking with a younger woman, possibly her daughter. The older woman dropped to the ground. Her hair was burnt off. Some people were filming her. It was horrible. She was screaming, freaking out.

“An ambulance came and then an air ambulance arrived. The explosion was pretty loud and people were running. I saw one woman running, shouting ‘there’s been an explosion’.”

Another witness, Verity Bell, 23, said: “I heard this really large explosion. I went out of the shop and saw a heat wave. It all went quiet then I heard this woman screaming and screaming.”

A spokesman for UK Power Networks, a company owned by Hong Kong-based tycoon Li Ka-shing, said it was investigating the cause of the explosion.

All three were taken to St Mary’s Hospital, where the 55-year-old was detained overnight. A 32-year-old was transferred to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital while a 20-year-old was discharged to attend a burns unit today.